Imperial Culture
The Nesarian Empire is home to many diverse peoples and cultures, but thousands of years of intermingling has led to many aspects of their cultures blending. This predominantly took the form of aspects of Elvic culture - specifically, Nesarian culture - bleeding out into others, however the non-Elvic cultures have also had a profound effect upon the collective "Imperial culture". Generally speaking, Drazak and the Western Desert (i.e. Indissia and Qaateen) had a very limited impact upon the broader Imperial culture, due to their geographic isolation and the more alien nature of their culture compared to the others, who all had at least some things in common. Drazak and the Western Desert therefore retain the most strongly unique national character to this day, although that is certainly not to say that each constituent nation of the Empire does not have its own culture and character. Mannerisms Broadly speaking, most Imperial people are generally reserved and quiet, and one may even be as bold as to claim that their culture is somewhat introverted. This is not quite the case, as Imperial people can be very jovial when they gather together at feasts and parties, however when going about their general business they are a quiet and polite people. They sometimes struggle to get along with others who come from "louder" cultures, perceiving them to be obnoxious (particularly the Americans, which feeds into the national hostility that Imperial people feel towards Americans), however they get along well with other "quiet" people such as Japanese and British people. Etiquette Imperial people place a very high value on politeness and being considerate of others. Things are never demanded, they are asked for, and others are always thanked for their services - although tipping is rare and only done in return for exceptionally good service. Being obnoxious in public, especially on public transport or indoors, is greatly frowned upon - such as being loud, playing music without headphones, smoking outside of designated zones (which, it should be mentioned, is a criminal offence) and public displays of affection beyond holding hands or a quick kiss, the latter of which will draw particularly disapproving looks if the couple are interracial, interspecies or homosexual. Although playing music from a device is seen as highly obnoxious and infuriating, performing music in public is greatly enjoyed, and across the whole Empire (particularly in cities) there are plenty of street musicians to be found. Their culture of politeness generally prevents Imperial people from brandishing their opinions, however if they are asked for their genuine, honest opinion they will certainly not shy away from bluntly stating it, and they will also usually not be polite or respectful towards those who are not polite or respectful to them, or - very significantly - their religious and cultural sites. This often results in a lot of conflict between native Imperial people and foreign tourists who do not understand the culture, as tourists may say or do something that is perfectly fine to them but is seen as deliberately antagonistic by the natives, who are doubly infuriated when it is a foreigner that comes to their own land to disrespect them. This is why it is often recommended for foreign tourists to read guides on Imperial etiquette, particularly Americans, and it is also generally good for Americans to try and pass themselves off as Canadian. Humour Imperial people generally share the same style of humour - that is, sarcastic, fairly blunt, often self-deprecating and often poking fun at (sometimes quite offensive) stereotypes about ethnic or religious groups. They will often make ironic insults towards each other and to some extent deliberately play up a stereotype or caricature, which often gives foreigners the misleading idea that Imperial humour has no limits. While many things are open to jokes, some things will incur social suicide if joked about, such as the recently deceased, national beloved figures or heroes (particularly saints), and most things to do with religion. Although poking fun at the followers of a religion is often done, mocking the religion itself is deeply taboo. Festivals As mentioned earlier, Imperial people are generally quiet and reserved, but far less so during their festivals. It is hard to describe Imperial festivals quickly, as each nation of the Empire has its own unique festivals - although generally speaking, festivals are commpanied by grand public performances of music and dancing, and a large feast in the evening, which is held outdoors if the weather is good enough. The grand feasts of Ascaria and Osdarth in particular are spectacles to behold, such as Dawnhail in Ascaria, where many feasts run concurrently in the evening (the grandest of which is organised by the Emperor himself and where up to a thousand nobles and other esteemed guests are in attendance) and all the leftovers are given out to the poor and the homeless. Music Music can be considered the aspect of Imperial culture that had the highest degree of inter-cultural mixing, taking traits from many different traditions to produce a musical tradition that contains traits of all of its ancestors but is not wholly any of them. The base of Imperial music is taken from the Elvic tradition. The time signatures of 3/4, 4/4 and 8/4 are universal in Elvic musical tradition, and are universal in Imperial music, although more modern artists have begun to experiment with less conventional time signatures. Also taken from the Elvic tradition is the general structure of the music, which bears a great deal of resemblance to western music; i.e. a loop of verse-chorus-verse with a clear introduction and usually two distinct bridges one after the other, immediately following the second to last chorus, with the first bridge being quieter and "softer" and the second being louder and "heavier", before kicking into a more powerful form of the chorus which is then followed by a distinct finishing section. Although the base of the music is firmly rooted in the Elvic tradition, the other aspects are generally the result of several traditions coming together as one. Estemorian and Draconic throat singing contributed to the manner in which vocals are sung - although throat singing itself is not common in Imperial music, it defined the concept of having a low-pitched, wordless harmony sung as a counterpart to the main vocals, usually only present in the chorus but sometimes also throughout the verses and during the bridge(s). Nesarian bagpipes make a frequent appearance in regional Nesarian folk music, and they have also seeped into Estemorian and to some extent Avamorian folk music as well. Nesarian pipes do not have a drone, as Nesarian pipes are intended to be played with other instruments that provide the harmony, not played alone. They are particularly employed the Cortathians, who see the bagpipes as a symbol of their native pre-Elvic identity. Taken from the Osdarthian tradition was the heavy use of string instruments, combining several types of strings together and often simultaneously playing strummed and bowed strings (the former of which is mainly influenced by traditional Nesarian music, but the latter is decidedly Osdarthian). Although actual string instruments are not so common in modern Imperial music, their legacy still shines through in the way various instruments are used, particularly the effect of having an instrument that produces distinct, somewhat punchy notes, like the sound produced by strummed strings, playing together with one that produces less defined notes that blend together in a smooth transition, like the sound produced by bowed strings. Modern Music Since the Bloodless Revolution of 1980, musical styles and traditions from across the world have been imported into the Empire along with many other aspects of culture. This led to the fairly rapid establishment of metal as one of the most popular genres of music - specifically a subgenre typically referred to as "Imperial metal" (referred to in Nesarian as Regateso Son, or more frequently Regason) which is essentially melodic power metal with heavy folk and symphonic elements, combining powerful, sweeping choruses with heavy riffs. A genre of music which became exceedingly popular in the mid-2010s was a genre that is now known by the term of "Regawave", which takes the form of melodic synthwave (or synthpop) with metal, folk and symphonic elements. It is, broadly speaking, much like Imperial metal, but blended with synthwave/synthpop. Cuisine Imperial cuisine is largely derived from Elvic cuisine that took on traits of the cuisines found in pre-Elvic Nesaria and Avamoria, and Estemoria, Draconia and Osdarth. The Elvic countries, Estemoria and Draconia all share essentially the same cuisine, which can be described as a mix between English and Italian with Japanese elements. Osdarth is more comparable to Japanese and Chinese cuisine with Italian elements. The cuisine of the Western Desert is more akin to that found in India. The dishes of the Western Desert had a negligible impact on cuisine elsewhere, however the spices and ingredients produced there are commonplace across the Empire. The same goes for Drazak, which is somewhat comparable to a cross between Mexican and Ethiopian cuisine. Imperial cuisine is defined by the unusual trait of having a comparatively extreme degree of variation depending upon the seasons, a custom that has its origins in pre-Elvic Nesarian tradition. Generally speaking, lighter, more delicate food (often with less meat content) is served during spring and summer, and more hearty, wholesome food is served during autumn and winter. In a somewhat counterintuitive turn of events, the spring and summer season is referred to as the "cool season" and the autumn and winter season is referred to as the "hot season" - however this makes sense once it is considered that the "cool" or "hot" refers to the food, not the environment. Many foods are present throughout both the cool and hot seasons, but they are used in different ways. For example, during the hot season, pasta (which was originally from Italian immigrants in the late 17th century but spread extremely rapidly across the country) is served exclusively in hot dishes and the other ingredients within the dish (such as pieces of meat or vegetables) take prominence over a fairly basic source, whereas during the cool season, pasta is often served cool and the sauce becomes the primary focus of the dish, sometimes with no additional ingredients at all. The traditional favourite pasta dish during the cool season is simply pasta (usually fusili, penne or staghetti) with basil pesto, served cold. Seafood also becomes more prominent in pasta during the cool season; traditionally, the only hot pasta dishes during the cool season are ones containing seafood. Meat is of course not left totally unseasoned, but the long-standing tradition is to have the meat speak for itself and to let a minimal amount of seasoning enhance the meat rather than making it become the dominant flavour. Imperial people see it as an issue of the quality of the meat; if the meat needs to be covered in seasonings and spices to be flavourful, then it is considered bad meat. Essentially the only dishes that remain unchanged with the seasons are those that derive from Osdarth - primarily, dishes based on noodles made from wheat or rice (rice noodles were the prominent form prior to the Nesarian conquest, but afterwards access to wheat was both more plentiful and cheaper, making it the dominant type). Although Osdarthian food is certainly served in higher class restaurants, generally speaking in its most common form across the Empire, Osdarthian food is presented as cheap, simple and fast street food, which for efficiency is standardised the whole year round. The very concept of street food also finds its roots in Osdarth, being documented as far back as the 4th century BC and becoming widespread across the Empire by the 6th century AD. Favourites It is of course impossible to list every dish classified as part of Imperial cuisine, however there are several foods and dishes which are frequently cited as nation-wide favourites. These will be classified into the three categories of "Cool", "Hot" and "Street", the latter of which is universally either Osdarthian in origin or based upon Osdarthian cuisine with twists from other countries. Cool * Pasta (usually fulisi, penne or spaghetti) with basil pesto, served cold ** Came over to the Empire from Italian immigrants in the mid-1600s ** Most popular in the Elvic countries Hot * Lamb steak, traditionally served with a cream-based mushroom and ground pepper sauce and roasted or fried potatoes ** Appears to have been eaten since time immemorial in many places, although the sauce originated in Draconia (taking peppercorns from the Drazaki jungle) and the roasted potatoes originated in Nesaria in the late 1600s, fried potatoes also became commonplace by the turn of the 20th century and may have been inspired by the British ** Most popular in Nesaria and Estemoria but eaten across the Empire * Pizza, the most common type being a combination of ham (cooked or dried), mushrooms and sweetcorn on top of thick Plarios cheese (which is similar to mozzarella but a little stronger in flavour and even more stretchy) and tomato sauce, which may be seasoned but is usually comprised of just pure tomatoes ** Pizza in the Empire originated with the Elvic cultures, assumed to have been created before the High Elves and Eshérians split (since it was independently present in both the Eshérian and High Elvish worlds), so it pre-dates the arrival of the Italians by at least 2500 years ** Pizza is very common throughout the Empire, although the specific ham, mushroom and sweetcorn variation is most popular in the Elvic countries and Estemoria Street * "Lobsters in Blankets"; lobster (with the head, legs and tail-tip removed) that is wrapped in a very thin pancake (i.e. a crêpe) and then fried. The lobster used is traditionally the Osdarthian Blueback Lobster, which is similar to Langoustines (or Norway Lobster), and it is often substituted for Langoustines where Blueback is not available ** Exact origin is unknown, but it is first referenced in the 7th century AD as being eaten in the Nesarian colony town of Caracinora in Kimato, assumed to be some sort of local dish transformed by the Nesarians ** This is also often served in restaurants but it is primarily a street food that is now popular across the Empire, especially in Osdarth